A lifetime associated with LSU women's golf has made former coach and Lady Tigers golfer Karen Bahnsen a legend.

Bahnsen was named Thursday to the Southeastern Conference 2019 Class of Women's Legends. She and a representative from the other 13 SEC schools will be honored at the SEC women's basketball tournament on March 6-10 in Greenville, South Carolina.

“After so long there are almost too many people to thank,” Bahnsen said in a university news release. “Every year has brought with it student-athletes, parents, coaches, administrators, staff and supporters who have become my family and so incredibly important in my journey.”

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Bahnsen was LSU's first women's golf recruit in 1979. After a four-year playing career, she became LSU's coach in 1984 and remained in that job until retiring in 2018.

Bahnsen's teams won 40 tournaments, including the 1992 SEC championship at Santa Maria Golf Course, and had seven NCAA top-10 finishes, including a pair of thirds in 2011-12.

She coached 46 All-SEC performers and 23 All-Americans, including 1986 national player of the year Jenny Lidback and 2011 NCAA individual champion Austin Ernst. Twenty-three of her players went on to professional golf.

Bahnsen was elected in 2008 to the Women's Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She will be recognized on the court at halftime of LSU's first game in the SEC tournament.